Felix (Barrymore) the cat

One year ago, through Hopalong and Maddie's matchmaker adoptathon,
we came to the e.bay and found our little guy - Felix. He was named Barrymore at the time and was with his two sisters, who were fast asleep and cuddled together, not so for Felix. We had been looking for hours originally looking for an Orange Tabby, preferrably a male. We saw this cute alert Black and White kitten, and had to try him out.
We got to take him into an area and interact with him and it was love at first site.

My fiance and Felix were in love and I was taken too.

We brought Felix home 1 year ago, and he has brought such joy to us and our other cat Sarah. The two of them get along well and curl up together all the time.

Our thanks go out to the Foster family that took care of the 3 little kittens, (Barrymore and his two sisters), we saw them leaving with some tears, and we want them to know how grateful we are to their socializing and love and care.
We hope his two sisters were adopted quickly too.

Thanks also to the two women from Hopalong that were on hand when we met our "little guy" who is now bigger than our older cat - he is now our "big little guy"

Can't imagine our family without him - Thanks for all your good work.

Linus ("Bernie") the Happy Cat

We met our kitten (originally christened Bernie) at Your Basic Bird back in October; although we'd been talking about getting a cat for some time, when we walked into the store that day and asked for a chance to pat him, the decision was made :) We were told he'd been placed in the store that weekend, with his sister, and both kittens were adopted within a week. Although we never met "Sister" (don't even know what her name would have been), we hope that her family's as happy with her as we are with our little guy!
We re-christened him Linus due to his penchant for hiding under blankets (and most anything else he can find). Six months later, he's HUGE (over 9 pounds and still growing), a leaper and explorer (there isn't a horizontal spot in our small apartment that hasn't had kitty footprints on it), and a definite cuddlebug (he slept with us his first night home, and has continued to do so every single night since). While he loves his kitten toys -- paper balls, stuffed animals to kill and most of all the fishing toys like String and Ribbon -- my husband and I remain his favorite items in the house (and he usually doesn't even maul us too badly :))
We are very happy to have Linus as part of our family, and remain grateful to Hopalong and whoever the kind fosters were that took in Linus/Bernie and his family last year :)

Pete

We adopted Pete, who was originally named Oscar, from Second Chance Rescue in September 2002. He was approximately 9 weeks old. He was one of a litter of puppies abandoned, fostered by SCR and my husband, Dave, took one look at him at an adoption event and was hooked. We gave him an official birthday because nobody knew the exact date he was born - August 31st 2002 which was also the date we got married.

Pete was diagnosed one month ago with Osteosarcoma, and, today, we put him to sleep so he is no longer in pain. He was with us, by his official birthday, for 9 years, 7 months and 12 days and every single minute of it was pure joy.
Thank you, Second Chance Rescue, for giving us the opportunity to care for and love Pete. We will miss him so much..

WALTER

When I saw his face on the website I knew I found my new friend. I'd been "dogless" for almost a year after losing Charlie, my 16 year old lhasa apso mix. We adopted Walter (the name he was given by animal rescue and we decided to not change it) 2 weeks before Christmas. Walter has settled in and is now running the show. He may only be 14 pounds (he was 12 pounds at adoption - I think he enjoys his cookie snacks) but he has a big dog personality. He loves to cuddle and play catch. He has the run of the house. I wish he could tell me about his "first life" and I call him my little survivor. He certainly was lucky to be picked by Hopalong and I was lucky enough to find him. Thank you for bringing us together.

Sharon

Oliver

We lost our beagle " Marcel " at age 10 on April 16, 2011. We were heartbroken and did not think we were going to ever get over his passing.

While purchasing a pair of prescription glasses in late Fall, I spent time with some customers who were speaking of how amazing Hopalong & Second Chance Animal Rescue was. I decided to go on line to find more information about the rescue group. While I was going through the site, I was very intrigued by a couple of rescued dogs. Before I knew it, I was on the phone and setting up an appointment to see Scooby.

On December 11, 2011, we met Scooby and decided to bring him home. This turned out to be an amazing day. We named him Oliver. Oliver is now a very important member of our family. He loves his long walks and looks forward to his play dates. He is such a sweet, sweet boy.

Thank you Hopalong for making the adoption process so very easy and professional.

Norbert

Hockey Stars Turned Literary Lions

When we adopted our kittens in August, their names were Heatley and Setoguchi, after hockey stars Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. I mention that because I hope their foster family reads this and recognizes the names: I want to extend thanks for the unbelievable job of socializing they conferred on these guys. My son and I decided to re-name the cats after two of our favorite writers, so Heatley is now Roberto (after Roberto Bolano) and Setoguchi is Carver (after Raymond Carver). OK, these writers can deal with some of life's rougher aspects, but these cats are as sweet as cats come. I know how much their foster family must have contributed to that. But I also want to praise Hopalong. The adoption process was great. Background checks were thorough but not unreasonable. And the care that had been taken with these animals was superb, from screening for feline HIV, to ensuring that they had received a full battery of shots, to microchipping. Hopalong's staff and volunteers are
professional, knowledgable, caring, and coourteous. What a great experience, and what great pets we have. Thanks to everyone who helped make Roberto and Carver such wonderful kittens .

A gift from God

Hopalong staff,

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the tremendous gift you have given me.

I adopted my dog Kota from Hopalong in February 2002, he was only 6 months old at the time and was staying with a foster family. When I saw Kota on your website, I just knew in my heart, he belonged with me and my family.

Within a year, Kota was diagnosed with cancer. With my broken heart and Kota's will to survive, he was able to conquer the cancer with surgery and move on….. For the next 8 years, Kota's life was nothing short of entertaining. Whenever he rode in the car, he would constantly paw my elbow so I would throw treats in the back seat for him and my other dog Jake.… Oddly, Kota was under the impression he was a miniature poodle, who just always wanted to sit on Mom's lap. He never quite understood he was a 130 lb Rottweiler Pit-bull mix! One of my fondest memories of Kota was when I would return home from work. Kota would always be there greeting me at the door with his toy chicken in his mouth. If Kota couldn't find his chicken, he would have this goofy grin on his face, snort like a pig, and wag his giant tail back and forth which would shake his entire body. His unconditional love of life and family always shined through.

In June 2010, Kota was diagnosed with kidney failure. With his will to survive and my broken heart, he once again was determined to fight the disease. After 17 months of medications and IV fluids Kota started to lose the fight. Sadly, on November 28, 2011, my family and I all had to say good bye to Kota. Even though his life was short, the amount of happiness he brought us will forever stay in our hearts. He was true gift from God, his memories and spirit will be with us forever.

In telling you my story, I want to thank you again Hopalong, for doing what you do. Your dedication to helping animals has given me the opportunity to experience Kota's unconditional love for nearly the past 10 years.

In memory of Kota.